Verizon IndyCar Series race at Pocono postponed by rain AUTOWEEK

Water dominated Sunday at Pocono Raceway, causing a postponement of the IndyCar race.PHOTO BY LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

MIKHAIL ALESHIN WILL LEAD THE FIELD MONDAY AT NOON ON NBCSN TV

Mikhail Aleshin’s chance to strut his Russian racing stuff in the Verizon IndyCar Series must wait another day.

Sunday’s ABC Supply 500, the series’ second 500-mile race of the season, was postponed Sunday due to steady rain. The makeup is scheduled for Monday at noon ET on NBCSN.

Aleshin will start from the pole for the first time in his IndyCar career. The 31-race starter has never finished higher than second in a race.

The 29-year-old Honda driver for Schmidt Peterson Motorsport said he is ready for the adventure and the opportunity.

“Obviously, yesterday was a big day for me, a big day for the team, but that was yesterday,” he said. “I woke up today already with a fresh mind — today we have a completely different mind, a completely different story.”

Josef Newgarden of Ed Carpenter Racing, a Chevrolet team, will start from the second position. This will be the first of four races to end the season.

For Pocono Raceway, this is the third rain-delayed race of the season. Both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series were similarly postponed by inclement weather.

“It is a disappointment, definitely,” said Aleshin. “The thing is, we have what we have in this situation. I feel very sorry for the fans because they came out and now we have rain. It’s something we can’t do anything with. We need to hope that tomorrow has no rain and it will be fine.”